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shirotsuki ā Rain - Remix
Published: 2009-04-20 14:33:37 +0000 UTC; Views: 19615; Favourites: 911; Downloads: 0
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I AM SO COLD. Seriously I'm freezing. My room is so cold right now. Augh. Must.. keep.. doing.. homework... Actually I'm taking a moment to keep my gallery from crusting over again, and I said I would post progress for Crow as I worked on it. So here we go! I'm not really sure where to begin, actually.Normally I design a character, then I find myself writing stuff down about them. Next thing I know, I've got a story and i'm all "yay".. but it tends to experience a disconnect, especially as I am prone to get obsessive over the more redundant factors. Then I start adding things in at random on account of them being "cool", getting obsessed with that, lather, rinse, repeat..
In short, this project has been about taking my process and fixing it. Which means... STORY FIRST!! Gasp! It makes a gigantic difference though, holy crap. I still based the redesigns off of their old appearances, but I feel like Rain here grew up since the last time I drew him all desu-schoolboy.
The style took some study as well, but wasn't as big a divergence as I was expecting.. in fact I feel like i'm in my old shoes again. I don't think that's a bad thing, rather than freaking out over whether or not my art looked too anime, I boiled It down to needing something that was soft and expressive, but still somehow shape oriented. So detail is important, but silhouette is vital. It will also force me to think of my composition in blocks, rather than just randomly cramming things in because I think it looks cool. Which i probably will still do because it's my thing, I'm just hoping now there'll be a hint of logic to it.
The color scheme is also an important evolution. The story of crow is set in a mechanical-clockwork parallel to existence, so I'm focusing on a palette of metals - earthy, brassy, or in Rains case, shades of patina. The idea is to create lots of common points between as many factors of this project as I can - make it look related to itself, but meaningfully so. The color schemes i've gravitated toward in the past incarnations of this project have never been a thoughtful piece of the puzzle, I want it to be part of it's identity now.
And in general things are going well right now. I'm hoping to be able to finish one of the concepts per day until all 7 are done. Go go progress!
Also, I'm hungry!
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Comments: 43
The first things that stands out about the character is the colours. The colour choices and technique creates a very metallic look, which works really well. He seems to shine but he's still soft, the fabric of his sweater looks really touchable.
I like the way he dresses, the large sweater makes him look very friendly, and adds some 'weight' to him, and the legs that look skinny in comparison still make him look a little boyish and not too big.
His face is very friendly, which I like, because his pose adds to the friendliness. He would look more natural, I think, if his hand wasn't sticking out to the side; maybe tucked into the giant pockets of his sweater, he'd look more relaxed. He's already got a sort of slouch in his shoulders that makes him seem like a relaxed sort of person, and his eyes look very calm.
I like how his face is done, there's enough subtle shading that his features look 3d and not very anime-ish at all. He also has a sort of watery look to him, in his face and especially his hair. Overall it's a really well done design e.deviantart.com/emoticons/s/sā¦ " width="15" height="15" alt="
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His eyes make his look sly, but his smile makes him look equally kind - I LIKE IT!!
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I feel the same as you do, for growing up with anime you tend to make your characters all 'cool'.
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I love how you put emphasis on the face by darkening the bottom half of the body. truly beautiful
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Neat design; love the jacket!
Also, you've now revealed to me the world "patina".
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I'm really happy for you, that you've been making progress as an artist! Being able to see that progress, or at least a bit of it, is also very inspiring. Thank you for sharing your journey.
All the best!
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great shading and nice colour scheme.awesome work at all~^^
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I like it. Kinda reminds me of Light from Death Note a little tho' I think it's caz my buddy made me watch the movie, haha. Great stuff though I can't find anything out of the norm. ^^
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Yeah, there's really something wrong with the hand. Looks as if it had no bones or something.. Perhaps it's because of the shading.
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that hair looks super tangible! XD like...fluidly shiny and soft...very downy yeah thats it DOWNY! like a baby chicken! XD 
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Yeah... So... How to critique someone entirely out of my league in the artistic field... You don't make this easy, y'know? Like everyone and their mother already said, the only possible flaw is his left arm. But then again,your less dominant arm is usually ~1 inch shorter than your dominant arm. While we all like to pretend we all have equally sized arms, the reality is, most of us probably have arms like him.
Gosh! C:
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Lets see... astounding lighting, realistic but still anime style hair, great color holds with nice, soft lines and a curved perspective as well as shadows that are near perfectly placed (I say that because I don't believe in perfection), and a feeling that Rain is standing somewhere where the sun is rising... I don't know whether I love you for a this piece or hate you out of jealousy.
Do you have a hair tutorial? I must know how you do that so well.
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Oh wow
i like the "feel" that the coloring in this piece made me feel
great job
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I really like his hair, and the choice of clothing as well. Wonderful colors, also.
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COLD?! Im jealous, Ive been swealtering in the heat all day, I'd KILL for some rain...
Oh well, this Rain is just as good, if better! Cause I can keep lookin at it
The colors are beautiful, they blend with each other really well. And I wouldnt worry about it looking to anime
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Looks good ^^ I love the design of his jacket...sorry, I can't really critique here--it's too good for me to know what to say
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critique ish. Well I love all your work its always been different and makes me smile. Any ways it seems a little heavy in his torso, especially by his waist. Hope I helped a bit.
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wow, I'm touched. You're artist comment really moved me. I've never encountered anyone on DA that puts so much thought into every facet of their character like you. You love your characters so much and it almost brings me to tears. Silhouette is an extremely important part of a character that many people overlook. For this character, he may be hard to pick out of a crowd, but I feel that his sloping shoulders and the hem of his jacket really work to distinguish his silhouette.
Thank you
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nice picture
i have that problem too, when i'm making my stories.
i think "oh, it would be cool if this happened!" and then i just stick it in there without thinking.
next thing i know, i have a bunch of things happening in my story, but it isn't actually going anywhere.
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he looks cool and mysterious, i always like ur color choice
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Ooh--a shady character? He's almost a blank slate, I'm not sure what to make of him yet--I assume this was the intent?
The left arm does seem a bit short, but otherwise, I'm curious to see what kind of character he will be.
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Though it's nice they added the critique, feature, it's rotten many of us can't use it. Ah well, I'm sure there's a good reason.
Getting to the point, I can immediately identify the elements you were talking about in your comments section in the piece, especially silhouette. This will be an instantly recognizable character with just form blocked in because of, from what I can tell, the unique cut of the coat, the subtle lines curving outward, and the way the clothing overlap with each other to make a very smooth form.
As usual, a very impressive work. However, what struck me are the comments you made about how you are getting even more back to basics, which is always a good thing. Also, your note about not just throwing things in because they're 'cool.' I find that is something most artists, including myself, have a very hard time doing. However, when we're actually able to take a hard line and be a bit brutal with the design of character and keep the random 'cool' stuff out, I believe we're better for it. I commend you for trying to stick to that.
And just because I must always try and find something to pick on, I sort of wish I could see a bit more definition of the nose. However, I get the feeling he's got a rather feminine feel to him, so that'll probably be just fine either way you go.
Anyways, I hope some of that made sense. I'm looking forward to more character designs from you!
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Made great sense! Particularly the nose bit; He is a very soft character, but I think he lost some of the definition he had in the sketch.. i'm still working on accepting "inking" back into my life, i'm still too timid with my line = =;.
Thanks for the note on the silhouette too. I'm really hoping it adds itself to the way I work from here on, since normally I feel like if I haven't detailed something until it's dead, then the picture isn't finished.
There are 7 designs in all right now, im trying to finish them one a day if I can with classes.. then again, I kinda have to since I'm presenting this at the end of the semester. Thanks again!
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You are very welcome. It's a joy watch your art.
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I absolutely love the bland, blurred colors. Gives him personality. You did a great job on his hair and face (my fav parts on this piece), but yeah, his hand looks kinda weird. I'm not one to talk though, hands give me trouble too ('specially the palms).
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Wow nice work! I thinkyour decision of fixing your process is really good and from this piece and your description it really feels like you're right on track! First the character design is really good, it'l simple but that makes it even better, as you said silhouette is vital but the details in his jacket are working really well. Also I really like this style of yours, since it's the one I begun to watch about 4 years ago and today it's looking better than ever. About the collor scheme, you really got it with this one, at least in my opinion. It totally set a sober but yet misterious tone to it. I think you're doing awesome, keep it up and I wish you great luck in your reworking of your creative process ^______^
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But I like your way of randomly cramming things in... 
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:hamburger:
good approach to take.
the most intricate of songs were written words first, thus more interesting and desirable.
i feel you'll appreciate your characters more doing it this way, it seems almost already as so. he looks wonderful... i can feel him, and its like i know him already.
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wow, incredible colouring, the wet look is amazing and the hair is incredibly detailed
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Shading: awesome
Lighting:great
Coleration:bland but good, probably the point
Messige
Overall: good
but the big white background distracts. i give it a 'B' for composition, and an 'A' for skills!
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It's soo soft
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Yooo~ becouse I dont have a pro acount.. I will add critique via this comment.. 
Oke.. well overall the piece isn't that bad.. but the hand.. its just a little out of place.. it is not ballanced.. but alright~ cyu
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